10 Things You can do With Hosta Plant Leaves {Saturday Inspiration & Ideas}

I remember always admiring the gorgeous green and white leafy plants in my grandfathers yard – The plants were always big and round, beautifully vibrant and simply perfect year after year. Each spring he would did some up and bring them to my mom to plant. Growing up, I remember our yard equally pleasing and abundantly filled with these wonderful plants called hostas.

{Source: Martha Stewart}
I love the thought of the hostas I have have in my very own yard now originally stemming from just a couple little hand me downs from my granddad. I think he would be just as proud of them in my garden as he was of them in his.

{Source: The Gardener’s Eden}
I am sure many of you have these perfect perennials right in your own yard – so for this weeks Saturday Inspiration post I have pulled together some ideas of things you can do by simply snipping off a few of these fabulous leaves.

Very cool ideas here! Unfortunately, due to the abundance of deer in my yard, we can’t have many hostas because the deer think they’re candy! We just got a fenced in area for our pool though, so I planted some. I can’t wait until they get big and beautiful like yours!

First of all, you want to check to see if your Hostas are meant to be in full shade, shade, part shade, part sun, or if they tolerate a lot of sun. If you know the name of the Hostas that you have, there are many sites where you can look up their lighting requirements: perennial resource.com, hostalibrary.org (has every kind of Hosta there is available), and perennials.com, are some sites I use. You can also check out places that sell Hostas: hostasdirect.com has many videos on Hosta care. If you don’t know the name of your Hosta, look for one that closely resemble it in color and substance (heaviness of the leaves). Look at the lighting recommendations for the Hosta. To be safe, make sue your Hosta is planted where it can get some morning sun, but refrain from planting them where they get the hottest afternoon sun. Even Hostas that are listed as sun tolerant might not be able to tolerate the hotter afternoon sun. nhhostas.com (New Hampshire Hostas) also have several varieties. A Hosta will brown if it is getting too much sun, especially if it isn’t getting enough water.
Do not over fertilize. Most Hosta would do fine without being fertilized at all. You can check out the fertilization recommendations on the sites that sell Hosta. Over fertilization of Hostas (also oriental grass) will cause the leaves to brown, and could completely kill off your Hostas.
Mulch around your Hosta to help keep the ground from drying out. Hostas need moisture. I think I’ve read a suggestion of 1 inch of water per week, making sure you’re not just watering the surface; water deeply. It’s important to note that when you are watering your Hostas, that you are watering the ground, not the leaves. If you water over the leaves, it causes them to brown when the sun starts to shine on them.
I hope this helps.

I NEVER would have thought of using these in arrangements or ANY of the ways you posted! The flowers last such a short time and then all these leaves . . . well you’ve given us all some GREAT ideas to use these beautiful leaves! Thanks!

Wow is all I can say I would have never thought to do any of that with hosta. I love hosta and have it planted across the front flower beds have you ever seen a white hosta? I did and had no clue it came in all white duno where it was bought but I would love to have one or 2!

What great ideas! I have SO many that I am going to split them (maybe next spring.) 🙂 What fabulous uses you have for them! They are my favorite plant. Little care and they give back such beauty, year after year. Great post! Carmen

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